By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

Some fans send presents and letters to their favorite stars, shouting their names and wishing they could get a closer look at them. But little they may know about the special meanings to the names of their favorite stars hold.

``Cover Story,'' a celebrity gossip program on the ``Story On' channel, offered fans the true story hidden behind the names of celebrities last Thursday.

Gong Yoo, heartthrob of the hit drama ``Coffee Prince'' created his name by putting together the last names of his parents, Gong and Yoo. Having a name that represents his parents allowed him to work twice as hard and take responsibility for his works.

Park Jin-young, who recently released a new album and the former producer of Rain was responsible of the world star's stage name. Coincidence or not, every time they recorded his songs, it began to rain. From that day, Park playfully called him Rain, and later on, it became his stage name.

Park Hwa-yobi is also one of the stars who has a stage name related to the rainy weather. Her real name is Park Mi-yeong and she was thinking of a stage name that could represent the day she was born, Tuesday, or Hwa-yo-il in Korean. She looked out the window and the moment she realized it was raining, she added Hwa-yo and Bi (rain in Korean) together, creating her stage name Park Hwa-yobi.

Some stars are simply born with unique names. Sung Ji-ru, an actor well known for his humorous supporting roles, got his name even before he was born. When his father was waiting for his mother to deliver him, it took a long time. His father, impatiently waiting for the newborn child complained that the baby was taking such a 'tedious' time. Thus, Ji-ru, which literally means tedious in Korean, became the actor's name.

Other incidents were also aired in the program. Actors Joo Jin-mo and Jang Hyuk borrowed their managers' names while Hyun Bin, Choi Ji-woo and Song Seong-heon changed their screen names from Kim Tae-pyeong, Choi Mi-hyang and Song Seong-bok.

sanghee@koreatimes.co.kr